Page C8 * as selected by * The Castlegar Sun * readers KKK KKK Kk “4 woah Fi Ss 2 Wednesday, November 8, 1995 Stuff the Ballot Box at The Castlegar Sun. Must use “original entry form” — no photocopies. Drop off or mail your nomination to The Castlegar Sun 465 Columbia Avenue, Castlegar, B.C. VIN 1G8 Random draws from all ballots entered will receive one of three prizes donated by: maZzDa aN LEN PETE'S TV Ltd. See Castlegar EET Nes — Deadline for nominations - November 10, 1995 Name: __ te te kw Ke The Castlegar Sun “The Best of 1995” Nomination Form BEST IN THE AREA Church School Community Festiva/Event Civic Club Tourist Attraction Radio Station — BEST BUSINESSES Store Children's Wear Furniture _ Tires —__ mit Auto Dealership = = _ Supermarket — Sporting Goods —__-_ Appliances Pharmacy/Drug _ Perit BanW/Credit Union Office Supplies Gift Shop Auto Parts CDs - Tapes _ Antiques/Collectibles __ Eyeglasses Hardware Video Rental Restaurant . Lawn & Garden Products Address: * aa, kk ks “ he ke ke & Oriental __ a ee ee ey Ballot — Enter to Win » Draw date for prizes December 1, 1995 * ke i ow & Landscape Service Paper Carrier ___ Printing —_ Principal/ e Boat Dealer Jeweller Dining Home Delivery Craft Supplies == F Men's & Women's Shoes ___ = —— Politician Bus Driver Caterers —— Service. —___ TV - Stereos - VCR Local Sports bs Computers —___ Investment Broker/Where — BEST PLACES Place to Work Rental Center —__ oe Nail T Floor Coverings Pet Jewellery ___ Carpenter Locksmith __ Home Builder ___ Doughnuts _ Civic Leader —_ For Bargains ___ — To Spend Saturday Night —— To Buy Bait ~ Golf Course Paint & Supplies ~~ ToFish Car Rental _ To Play Bingo __ Towing Service __ Beauty Shop Appliance/Service & Repair : Fabric Store —__ Health Food Store ___ BEST FOOD Chicken BEST PEOPLE Local Columnist To Get a TV - VCR Repair Dancing Auto Paint Job — Fitness Centre —— Waitress/Waiter/Where Car Salesman/Where Plumber SecretaryWhere Boss/Where Coach/Where Hairdresser __- French Fries - Ice Cream/Yogurt Hot Dogs — Vegetarian Menu To Get Car Washed Shopping Center __ ~ Store Window Display Net Sefon; Auto BV Repel Desserts ____ —— To take out of town guests __ Mexican Sandwiches Firefighter eng Bank Teller/Credit Union/Where Banker/Where City Employee/Where ___ Tourist Location Park Landscape HMS Aurora - Local veter: the Second World War. PROFILE The Castlegar Sun The guns fell silent After six years of the worst carnage and destruction ond World War finally ended Frank Harvey, now a Cas all six years of the global August day 50 years ago. But the nightmare wasn POWs from Japanese prison TRENT BANCARZ Sun Editor Frank Harvey was ashore in Ceylon, récov- ering in hospital from a bout of fever, when word came of Japan’s surrender on that August day in 1945. Harvey, then 25, had come ashore for a sig- nals course following months of b ing Japanese islands in the Indian Ocean aboard the HMS Nelson. The Indian Ocean action was but one of a long list of c igns Har- vey had been involved with during his six years as a British Royal Marine. He was a 19-year-old bread salesman in Birmingham, England when he signed up for the marines in August, 1939. A month later, German forces poured over the Polish border, Starting a conflict which eventually took on global proportions and took six years to settle. Harvey completed his training in early 1940 and spent the next three years aboard The Aurora, a light cruiser. The Aurora saw service in the Arctic of the 20th century, the Sec- with Japan's surrender in August, 1945, tlegar resident, served in Great Britain ‘S marine corps for conflict and recalls his feeling of intense relief on that 't quite over. camps. Harvey stayed in the Mediterranean, but was transferred to the HMS Nelson, a bat- tleship. But 1941-42 hadn't been all bad and.out of the wwe came ing uplifting. He'd met a nurse named Elsie during an air raid blackout in England in 1941 and a romance blossomed. The couple was engaged in 1942 and later married in 1944, “She was a war bride,” recalls Harvey. “We might not have met if not for the war.” Harvey spent ‘43, ‘44 and a good chunk of ‘45 manning guns aboard The Nelson in the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean to pound Japanese islands. During the six years, Harvey had compiled an impressive war record. He was awarded the 1939 Atlantic Medal, Africa Star, Italy Star, Malta Medal, Murmansk Medal (from the Soviets) and the Burma Star. Now it was August, 1945 and the Japanese had surrendered after two atomic bombs hit Tragedy awaited those who rescued Allied barely able to smile or shake our hands. They must have been tough to survive because they were treated so terribly. And a lot of them were women. “A lot of them went through the ordeal in Malaya and Particularly Burma, where many were forced to work on the “Railway of Death.’” Elsie had two cousins on the Railway of Death and neither ever talked much about their ordeals. One is still alive in England. The other died in 1980, the marks from kicks, whips and sticks still visible on his back near- ly 40 years later. “I felt some anger when I saw how the POWs had been treated,” Says Harvey. “But then the unbelievable happened. The POWs were compassionate and actually offered some of their supplies to surrendering Japanese soldiers, who had been treated badly by their own officers. I guess it’s English compassion or something, but I still can’t fig- ure out how they were able to main- and North Atlantic Oceans during Harvey's first two years, The cruis- er was involved in the Battle of Britain during the fall of 1940, try- ing to pound German bases in northern’ France from where the powerful Luftwaffe (German air force) launched attack after attack ‘The POWs were shadows and able to smile or shake our have been tough to survive.' — FRANK HARVEY Second World War veteran Skeletons, barely hands. They must tain that after what they went through.” The Nelson took 1,000 of the POWs on board and sailed for home. Harvey recalls several were so weak, they didn't survive the journey home and had to be buried at sea. The Nelson finally arrived in on southern England. “We were never defeatist, even in 1940 when things were desperate and London was on fire,” recalls Harvey. “We had our backs against the wall, but were still fairly confident we could eventually win ” F Unable to knock out Sritain’s air defences, Germany shelved its plans to invade England and the war settled down until the spring of 1941. But it fired back up again. May, 1941 found Harvey and The Aurora in the North Atlantic as part of the hunt for the lengendary German ship The Bismarck. With The Bismarck sunk, Harvey and The Aurora were sent to the Mediterranean Sea as Part of the Malta convoy to ensure supplies were getting to the men fighting in the North African desert. “The time in the Mediterranean (1941-42) was hell itself,” says Harvey. “We hit mines near Tripoli (modern-day Libya) and it blew a hole bigger than your (Castlegar Sun’s) shop in the ship. We were Tucky to get back to Malta.” two of its cities. Harvey and his comrades didn’t know exactly what an atomic bomb was, but knew it was powerful enough to exact a quick surrender. “To me, the surrender was an intense feel- ing of relief,” says Harvey. “We'd been through the mill from 1939 to 1945. By 1945, we were beginning to feel exhausted and a lit. tle bit shattered. “T felt so relieved. No more war, no more mine fields, no more hellish strikes, bombs, Shelling, terrible storms, no more ‘action sta- tions’ and no more blackouts. We could tum on the lights again on the upper deck and open up some portholes.” The day after the surrender, a still-shaky Harvey boarded The Nelson and the ship headed for Singapore. But the horrors didn’t end. The marines (later called dos) landed on Sii ip and began releasing Allied POWs from the Japanese prison camps. “It was very emotional,” recalls Harvey. “The POWs were shadows and skel Portsmouth. There were no parades, bands or cheering crowds to greet the ship. “All of a sudden, we were all unemployed,” Says Harvey. “It was difficult to leave the war behind. We had a feeling we'd done a good job, but nobody wanted us anymore. That was the feeling of a good many. “It was difficult to adjust to peace time at first. I was restless at first, but I overcame it Over 50 years, Whe war has slowly gone away. But at first, we thought how lucky we" had been to survive. I looked at the Grim Reaper straight down the barrel several times during the six years. We were blood- ied, but unbowed.” Harvey stayed in the military another six years until he and Elsie, along with three young daughters, emigrated to Canada in 1953. “We're thankful. Canada has been good to us.” Harvey will read Jn Flanders Fields dur- ing Castlegar’s Remembrance Day cere- monies Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. at the Kinsmen Park . tele an Frank Harvey served aboard this light cruiser for the better Part of three years during lake SUN STAFF named A Castlegar airman who Perished in action dur- PHOTOS courtesy of Frank and Elsie Harvey Castlegar airman has in his honor two young daughters; Sherell (now Koreen) and Carolee (now Fitz-Gerald). Riley had been a Castle- gar resident since 1938 Then And Now - Frank and Elsie Harvey met during the Second World War and were married in 1944. Frank Served in the British Marines, while Elsie was a nurse in a British military hospital. Above, the Harveys on their wed- ding day in 1944. Below, the Harveys in a more recent picture. The couple are now Castlegar residents Frank will read In Flanders Fields at this year's ceremonies Local Nov. 11 activities The Castlegar-Robson branch of the Royal Canadian Legion has Several activities lined up for Remembrance Day on Nov. II 10 a.m. - Parade assembles at the Legion branch 10:30 - Parade falls in. 10:40 - Parade marches to the Cenotaph in the Kinsmen Park (comer of Third Street and 10th Avenue) 11:00 - Service begins KKK KKK KKK KKK KKK KK KKK Riley Lake is located in the Monashee Mountains, northeast of Vernon and directly west of Upper Artow Lake. Under the Project, families of those killed serving Canada in a war may apply to have BC. geographical features named after Slain soldiers. Riley Lake will be labelled on future provincial maps and will be listed as an official name in gazetteers of place names Nursing Home —__ surance Agent/Where jeer in Town - All the Best of 1995 nsuranci t/ = Coldest Bi Real Estate Agent/Where - - Business Lunch — will be announced in December. wok wk kk wk wk kk @ + Speeches by dignitaries. + Guest speaker address. + Recitation of /n Flanders Fields + Roll call honoring fallen comrades * Two minutes silence followed by “Reveille + Laying of wreaths. + Closing hymn and benediction, 11:45 - Parade marches back to the Legion Hail ing the Second World War will have a lake named in his honor. RCAF Flying Officer Virgil Lee Riley was killed 4 in 1944 during a mission over Denmark. As part of a ‘ Project of the B.C. Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, “Riley Lake" will be named in his honor. Flying Officer Riley, 33, left behind wife Ivy and Bakery Daycare Department Store kk kk Pastor/PriesWhere Lounge — i rn nr nr nn ee ee HK KK KK kkk Virgil Lee Riley